Biometric attendance now mandatory for madrasa teachers in UP's Aligarh

'Henceforth, salaries of madrasa teachers will be disbursed based on their biometric attendance records,' District Magistrate Sanjiv Ranjan told reporters.

Aligarh (UP): The Aligarh district administration has made recording attendance through a biometric system mandatory for all madrasa teachers, officials said on Thursday.

District Magistrate Sanjiv Ranjan said the step has been taken in compliance with the instructions issued by the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Henceforth, salaries of madrasa teachers will be disbursed based on their biometric attendance records," he told reporters.

Responding to a query, Ranjan said the exercise to identify "illegal madrasas" in the district is underway.

According to the data from the district minority office, Aligarh has 120 registered madrasas, four of which are government-aided and 116 unaided.

The government-aided institutions collectively employ 55 teachers and have around 14,000 students, while the unaided madrasas have 200 teachers and nearly 60,000 students.

An official from the minority office said the new measures are in view of the recent developments concerning security issues in educational institutions.

These steps, the official added, would help ensure the safety and security of students and staff at such centres.